Early November Holidays:
(Halloween)
All Saints Day Nov 1 and
All Souls Day (Dia des Dusfuntos) Nov 2
In Ecuador hey have adopted Halloween to a small extent with the "kids dressing up", and any excuse for a party! They call it Night of Witches (Noche de Brujas)
What is more customary is Nov 1 -- All Saints Day when the children do go door to door and get gifts of sweet pastries in the shape of babies decorated with frosting called guaguas (sort of like we decorate gingerbread men) and fruit and candy.
On Nov 2nd All Souls Day it is the day for the adults (and families) to visit house to house where they are invited in to for plates of traditional fish dishes and sweet foods and drinks made of mora (blackberries.) This is also the day when they decorate the family cemetery sites with flowers and have a celbratory dinner at the graves of recently deceased (the first three years following their death) and the elderly bring the babies of the family to introduce them to their ancestors.
Evidently Anconcito with it's fishing is one of the most famous places to do this and busloads of folks come in from Guayaquil to come eat the food -- and yes it is served freely.
I surmise this is an adaption by the Church of an indigenous celebration -- synchronizing with the Saints day.
More interesting to us North American gringos is the similarity of the foods served for this holiday and also the stuffed turkey for the winter solstice festival (now adopted to Christmas)which reminds me a lot of what we eat and the familial celebration of the USA Thanksgiving -- which was also originally an indigenous feast day shared by the North East American Indians with the Pilgrims.
Things that make you go Hmmm...and Yummm!
Susan
TheoceanHideaway.com
(Halloween)
All Saints Day Nov 1 and
All Souls Day (Dia des Dusfuntos) Nov 2
In Ecuador hey have adopted Halloween to a small extent with the "kids dressing up", and any excuse for a party! They call it Night of Witches (Noche de Brujas)
What is more customary is Nov 1 -- All Saints Day when the children do go door to door and get gifts of sweet pastries in the shape of babies decorated with frosting called guaguas (sort of like we decorate gingerbread men) and fruit and candy.
On Nov 2nd All Souls Day it is the day for the adults (and families) to visit house to house where they are invited in to for plates of traditional fish dishes and sweet foods and drinks made of mora (blackberries.) This is also the day when they decorate the family cemetery sites with flowers and have a celbratory dinner at the graves of recently deceased (the first three years following their death) and the elderly bring the babies of the family to introduce them to their ancestors.
Evidently Anconcito with it's fishing is one of the most famous places to do this and busloads of folks come in from Guayaquil to come eat the food -- and yes it is served freely.
I surmise this is an adaption by the Church of an indigenous celebration -- synchronizing with the Saints day.
More interesting to us North American gringos is the similarity of the foods served for this holiday and also the stuffed turkey for the winter solstice festival (now adopted to Christmas)which reminds me a lot of what we eat and the familial celebration of the USA Thanksgiving -- which was also originally an indigenous feast day shared by the North East American Indians with the Pilgrims.
Things that make you go Hmmm...and Yummm!
Susan
TheoceanHideaway.com
